Never Beg For Love … Learn From The crow
There are truths that quietly accompany us, even when we are slow to embrace them. One of those truths is that we only begin to live fully when we stop trying to become someone else and have the courage to be ourselves. Often, what we believe is missing has been within us all along—we have simply forgotten how to see it.
The Forest Crow
Deep within an ancient forest, where towering trees stood like silent giants and sunlight filtered through the leaves in golden ribbons, lived a crow. His broad wings, midnight-black feathers, and deep, resonant call gave him a striking presence. No one feared him, yet no one drew close. The forest animals watched him from a distance, as though his presence carried a quiet sadness they could not understand. And the crow felt it.
Each morning, he greeted the first rays of sunlight by shaking the dew from his wings before settling on the highest branch of an old oak. From there, he watched the forest awaken.
His eyes were always drawn to the same sight: a graceful white dove whose gentle song seemed to soothe the very air. She glided effortlessly through the trees, surrounded by animals who admired her wherever she went.
“How beautiful she is,” they would say. “She brings peace wherever she flies.”
Listening from above, the crow felt himself growing smaller—not because he envied her, but because he believed he did not belong. No one called him beautiful. No one waited for his arrival. No one admired his voice. With each passing day, those thoughts became heavier.
The Desire to Be Someone Else
Over time, the crow began to doubt everything about himself. His shadow, once simply a part of who he was, became something he wished he could escape. He longed for the dove’s soft wings, her gentle song, and the warmth she inspired in others.
One day, he made a decision that would change his life.
He would become like her.
From then on, he stopped soaring high above the treetops. Instead, he flew low, carefully imitating the dove’s graceful movements. He polished his feathers endlessly, hoping they might somehow reflect a brightness they were never meant to hold. He strained to sing like her, but his deep voice only faltered. Even his smiles felt forced, because inside he felt emptier than ever.
The hardest part was that no one noticed.
No one praised him.
No one saw him.
A Conversation by the Stream
Exhausted and discouraged, the crow wandered to a quiet clearing where the dove was drinking from a clear forest stream.
He approached hesitantly.
“May I speak with you?” he asked.
“Of course,” she replied with a warm smile.
“I’ve tried to be like you,” he confessed. “I’ve flown the way you fly. I’ve tried to sing like you. I’ve given everything I have, but I still feel empty. No one sees me. No one values me. Perhaps I simply have no value.”
The dove looked at him with kindness rather than judgment. After a thoughtful silence, she stepped closer.
“Crow,” she said gently, “you were never meant to imitate anyone. You were born to soar where others cannot reach, to see what no one else can see. Your song is not gentle, but it announces the changing seasons. Your feathers are not white, but they are strong enough to weather every storm. You are necessary. The forest needs your shadow just as much as it needs my light.”
The crow lowered his head, deeply moved.
“But no one notices,” he whispered.
The dove smiled.
“Because you stopped noticing yourself first. The moment you abandoned who you were to become someone else, you left behind the very thing that made you shine. Without your true nature, there can be no real light. Without your truth, there can be no freedom.”
The Awakening
That evening, the crow returned to the old oak, but something within him had changed.
As he looked into the still water below, he no longer saw ugliness. He saw resilience. Wisdom. Quiet strength.
When dawn arrived and its first light touched his wings, he opened them without hesitation.
This time, he flew high.
Not to impress anyone.
Not to earn admiration.
Not to imitate another.
He flew because flying in his own way was what freedom had always meant.
Recognition
As the crow soared above the forest, something unexpected happened.
The animals looked up.
“Look at the crow,” said the fox.
“What a magnificent flight,” whispered the hare.
“He was always extraordinary,” murmured the deer. “We simply never noticed.”
That is often how life works.
Sometimes the world begins to recognize us only after we have learned to recognize ourselves.
From that day forward, the crow never again tried to fly like the dove.
He flew like a crow.
And whenever the dove saw him gliding confidently across the sky, she smiled, knowing they were never meant to compete with one another. Each had a different gift. Each had a different purpose.
The forest needed them both.
Self-Love
Self-love is not selfishness.
It is the root from which confidence grows.
It is the foundation upon which authenticity stands.
And it is from that place that everything beautiful begins to blossom.
You’ve just read Never Beg For Love . Why not read Hard Bumps on Your Finger Joints